How to Keep Your Home Pest Free
Regardless of where you live in America, there is one thing for certain: you probably have pests that are unique to your town. Whether they come in the form of roaches, ants, mosquitos, or spiders, you will eventually come across them at some point in time. The tricky part as a homeowner is how to keep them out of your home.
Mosquitos in Utah 
Here in Utah, we are subject to a wide variety of insects, and I’m reluctantly proud to say that we are home to some of the largest mosquitos on the planet thanks to that large body of stagnant water we call the Great Salt Lake. Keeping those little bloodsuckers at bay is almost impossible, but there are some other pests that we are quite capable of controlling if we use the right applications.
How I Control Pests
The pests that we encounter out where I live aren’t much different than everywhere else. We see spiders, ants, red ants, and many other pests that are quite prevalent across America, so my advice should be pretty far reaching unless you live in South America with enormous, horned bugs the size of your hand.
Turn Out the Lights
I know just about everyone is guilty of this one. How often do we keep the porch light on at night? If you’re like me, it’s always on. This usually ends with me opening and closing the front door as fast as I can, which isn’t that easy when you’re trying to usher in 3 kids and handfuls of groceries.
Keeping the porch light off keeps away unwanted moths, flies, and any other winged insect. If you feel unsafe practicing this, consider getting a motion sensing light for your porch. This will keep thieves, solicitors, and insects away.
Hose Them Down
Where I live, spiders are a huge concern since they usually bring the most drama from the kids, and the wife. Instead of chasing an elusive spider around with a shoe, try deterring them entering altogether.
Spiders have the tendency to form their webs in and around your home. Next time you are watering the garden, take a moment to turn that hose on the outside of your home. This will knock down any spider webs and make them feel homeless and unwelcome.
Sealing Cracks
When cold weather presents itself, insects will search for the warmest areas they can find. Often, they track where warm air is escaping and nestle in for the winter.
If you don’t want holiday guests with antennae this season, take the time to seek out potential cracks in your home’s foundation. Not only will it keep your home free of insects, it will also save you on your heating bill by eliminating cold air entry.
Eat In the Kitchen
Now I understand why my parents never let me eat anywhere other than the kitchen. Insects have a great sense of smell and will detect food if it is near any entry of your home. At first thought, this may sound silly, but if you have 3 young children like I do, you also know how hard it is to make kids eat in just one area. However, if you are a softie like I am, make sure to clean up spills and food right away, and keep the ants at bay!
Pesticides and Insecticides
Much of the success I have found in keeping unwanted insects away comes from a periodic spraying. I personally use a whole home spray that is safe for my kids to be around. I usually spray the foundation of the house, and along door and window frames. This has kept my home pest free for years.
Keep Up the Good Work
Just like everything else, there is no one-time fix for eliminating insects from your home. Usually, the indicator for me to do another spray is when I see a spider in the house, or if I walk into a spider web as I walk outside which makes me flop around like a fish out of water.
If you make time to use these simple tools, you will begin to see the insect population in your home subside. Then you can be happy that your shoes have only been for walking, not squashing.
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Bio
Bart Vale is a writer for Beeline Pest Control, who is one of Utah’s enforcers for Salt Lake City pest control. He lives in the small rural community of Eagle Mountain, and enjoys his time indoors away from red ants and black widow spiders.